Almost Lover
by den7201
Summary: Everything was going great, her life was finally back on track but it seems like fate will intervene again. And she's not so sure if she'll find hapiness once more. Andie/Chase, Moose/Sophie, Tyler/Nora, Miles/Lucy
1. Prologue

Hey guys

**Hey guys! This is my first Step Up 2 fan fic and I couldn't be more excited xD LOL I came up with this idea after watching the movie and I noticed a little detail that I decided to focus on.;) Enjoy! (and yes, this will be an AndieChase and Moose/Sophie fic)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Step Up 2. **

It was a blur. A complete and total blur. The events of the night before just seemed to be a faded memory that seemed more distant than it was, like she was falsely reliving the tainted memories of someone else. She tried to relax but the more she thought about it the more she tensed up.

She laid back down on her bad, trying to at least sleep it off.

"_Someone's in a good mood." _

_Andie spotted Sarah waiting for her in the living room smiling smugly at the goofy grin she wasn't even aware she had. _

"_It's been a while since I've seen that smile of yours, you're mother was quite fond of it you know." Sarah said as she turned on the hallway light with a hint of concern flashing across her face. "Goodness child, did you walk home in the rain?" _

_Andie smirked as she tried to wring out the water from her hair. "Not exactly."_

"_I don't think I even want to know." Sarah walked off and reappeared a few moments later with a dry towel. "Here, you're going to catch a cold."_

"_Thanks." Andie took the towel and started drying herself off. _

"_So I'm guessing things went well at that competition of yours." Sarah said. _

"_Yeah." Andie smiled. "It was so awesome Sarah, just like before when I used to watch them."_

"_Glad to hear it." Sarah yawned. _

"_You didn't have to wait for me you know." Andie said to her clearly exhausted guardian._

"_I wanted to." Sarah reassured her. "You know, your mother would have been so proud of you, Andie."_

_Andie flashed her a small smile. She wasn't used to getting along with Sarah but then again things are starting to get better for her._

"_Now go change into something dry and get some rest." Andie simply nodded and started walking off. "I'll help you finish pack in the morning."_

_Andie stopped at the foot of the stairs abruptly as she turned towards Sarah, clearly horrified by her last sentence. "What?"_

"_Your aunt called." Sarah explained. "She's expecting you by the end of the week."_

_Andie stood there seemingly frozen to the ground, her face full of shock. She opened her mouth yet words couldn't seem to come out of them._

"_And all that paperwork." Sarah shook her head uncomfortably. "You know how cynical those lawyers can be."_

"_I-I-you-but-" Andie stuttered. "You're sending me to Texas?" she asked shakily._

_Sarah's eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, we already talked about this remember?"_

"_Yeah, but I can't leave now!" Andie protested. "And you can't make me!"_

"_Andie we've already discussed this and your aunt and uncle have already-"_

"_You said that you saw a change in me." Andie shakily. "You said that it would be what my mom would've wanted!"_

"_Sweetie, I was talking about the Streets, not Texas." Sarah said softly to the obviously upset teenager. _

"_But-"_

"_I'm sorry Andie." Sarah lowered her head so she didn't have to see Andie's sullen face. _

_Andie stared at her guardian in both disbelief and disappointment. This wasn't happening. She felt her eyes slowly welling up with tears. This cannot be happening._

"_I can't believe you would do this to me."_

_Sarah opened her mouth to say something but Andie had already rushed upstairs and slammed her bedroom door. Sarah ran her hand through her hair, sighing heavily. _

_This cannot possibly be happening._

Her train of thought was soon interrupted by her phone ringing. She glanced at the screen, it was Missy. She hesitated for a moment, feeling the sickness of her stomach rise again and her anxiety and worry resurface.

"Hello?"

"Andie!" Missy greeted excitedly. "How you doin'?"

"Fine." Andie said flatly.

"That doesn't sound fine." Missy retorted. "Everything okay, D?"

"Y-Yeah, just tired from last night I guess." Andie assured her. "I have a huge headache too."

"I know what you mean, girl. Last night was crazy!" Missy gushed on. "You were right, those tight-wearin' ballerinas can bring it."

"Yeah, last night was really great…" Andie muttered. "Too bad it had to end so soon."

"What do you mean girl?" Missy said. "You're starting to sound like it's all over, it ain't over."

Andie sighed, if only Missy knew. "D? You still there?"

"Yeah, yeah still here." Andie said.

"You wanna hang out at my place? The crew is coming over to celebrate."

"I'll try to get through with Sarah."

"Well you better get your ass over here soon." Andie could hear faint voices in the background. "Cause the crew's got their party on!" she heard cheers in the background.

Andie couldn't help but laugh lightly despite her anxious state. "Alright I'll try."

"You better. Besides-" Missy lowered her voice so no one else could hear. "-Chase has been looking for you."

Andie's eyes widened. "Wh-" Missy hung up before she could even ask her any further questions. "Damn it."

Andie sighed and placed her phone on her side table, closing her eyes once more. It was still so unclear.

It seemed so clear last night. Finally, she belonged. And just as quickly as it came, it was stolen from her. What the hell was she supposed to tell Director Collins? Missy? The crew? Chase?

She sighed. Chase. She didn't even know if she had the guts to look at him and pretend that everything was okay. Hell, she knew that she couldn't do that with anyone with the state of mind she had right now.

She felt her cheeks heat up as fresh tears welled up on the corners of her eyes. Great, now not only was she empty, she was weak as well. She quickly wiped her tears and got off the bed, seeing as it was no use trying to sleep it off.

She had to tell them, the sooner the better. But she had no idea how the hell she was going to do it.

**Okay, I know it's kind of short but the next ones will be longer xD Hope you guys like the first chapter, I'm actually thinking about making a sequel for this but it's definitely going to be a future fic ;) tell me what you guys think! (which translates to: please review! LOL)**

**den**


	2. And So It Begins

First off, thank you so much for the reviews guys

**First off, thank you so much for the reviews guys! LOVED them all! So I've been thinking about this fic a LOT so it took me a while to post this chapter but here it is…**

**I've finally decided, (after a long debate with myself lol) that I will be making this a future fic(mostly cause I like writing future fics and I haven't seen one with Step Up 2 yet xD) I thought about making a sequel that will have the plot after six years but then I realized that I didn't want to make a bunch of filler chapters and you guys deserve the best ;p so after about five chapters, there will be a time jump which will be interesting because the I will be including Tyler, Nora, Miles and Lucy in this fic as well and things will become really interesting… enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Step Up 2. **

--

Saturday mornings usually went smoothly. Sarah would be cooking breakfast with Charlie watching his morning cartoons while Andie would either lock herself up in her room or hang around with the 410 doing God knows what. Since the other option was obviously no longer in question, Andie had been locked in her room for almost the entire morning and Sarah knew exactly why.

"Momma, is Andie gonna eat breakfast?" Charlie asked interrupting her thoughts.

"I don't know sweetie."

"Can I have her pancakes?" Charlie pointed towards the stack of pancakes with his fork.

"Might as well." Sarah replied as she reached for the newspaper lying on the side of the table. "I doubt she's coming down anytime soon."

Charlie's eyes glistened with delight as he reached for Andie's plate. Sarah sighed as she watched her son delightfully devour her pancakes. Charlie absolutely adored Andie, she had been the only sibling he had ever known. Sarah was absolutely certain that he would be displeased with her as well when he finds out that she was still sending Andie to Texas.

Sarah stared at the newspaper, trying to read but her thoughts were rapidly running through her head. Soon, the sound of footsteps was heard and a rather exhausted-looking Andie appeared in front of them.

"Andie!" Charlie ran into her arms giving her a huge hug.

"I ate your pancakes 'cause we thought you weren't coming down," Charlie looked down with guilt. "You're not mad are you?"

Andie smiled at the little boy. She knelt down to look at him. "Of course not." She playfully messed up his hair.

"I knew you'd understand." Charlie gave her a quick hug before he rushed up to his room, leaving her and Sarah alone.

Andie glanced once at Sarah before walking towards the door.

"Not so fast, Andie."

Andie bit her lip. She was so close to avoiding a conversation with her. She slowly turned to face her, not looking forward to the conversation.

Sarah studied her sullen face. "Have you been crying? Your eyes are swollen."

Andie turned her head away, feeling ashamed. She was not the type to show people that she was weak, let alone showing them the evidence that she was crying the night before.

"I've just been exhausted." She lied.

"Andie-"

"Look I gotta go, so-"

"Where are you going?" Sarah demmanded.

"I dunno." Andie shrugged. "Anywhere but here."

Sarah gave her a look. "I thought you would finish packing today."

Andie gave her a glare, frustration getting the best of her. "Look, I'll be back alright so just chill out."

"Your school called today." Sarah said ignoring Andie's comment. "They've lifted your expulsion."

"Yeah, that's what I have been trying to tell you." Andie snapped. "If you were listening to me last night instead of going off about Texas you would've known that."

"I want you to go to the director's office on Monday and tell him that you're leaving by the end of this week."

"Why don't you do it yourself?" Andie said coldly. "Since delivering bad news is kind of your thing now."

Sarah frowned at Andie's words. "Please, just do what I say." Sarah snapped, obviously tired of arguing with her.

"Whatever." Andie said bluntly. "It's not like you've ruined my life enough anyways." Andie stormed out of the kitchen and headed for the door before she was interrupted yet again.

"I'm doing this for your own good!" Sarah raised her voice.

Andie scoffed. "For my own good?!" She whipped back at her. "For the first time after my mother died I felt like I belonged, like people believed in me! After everything that's happened, after everything I've lost I finally get something back in my life and you just decide to take it away from me!"

Sarah stared at her. She knew the weight of the situation would get the best of her soon.

"I promised your mother that I would take care of you. I promised her that I would turn you into the young lady she wanted you to become." Sarah said. "And I can't do that if you won't listen to me."

"And you think that _you're _the one not being listened to?!" Andie started yelling shakily.

"I try, Andie." Sarah said softly. "But you won't let me in."

"Now you know why." Andie rushed to the door and slammed it behind her before Sarah could say anything else.

Andie sighed as she leaned against the hard wood frame. She stared momentarily at the random people passing by the street. She ran her hand through her long hair, her expression still exasperated. She sat in silence, debating with herself on what to do next. Just when tears seemed to have formed yet again in the corners of her eyes, she quickly wiped them away with the back of her hand and pulled herself to stand.

She seemed to have automatically started walking along the sidewalk, following wherever her legs may take her, hoping that it was anywhere but where she started from.

--

"Dude, that's sick!"

The whole crew looked on as Monster did a last flip in the air and landed on his feet. They all cheered on as they watched in awe.

"Man, that was off the hook!" Hair exclaimed as he high-fived with Monster.

"It was alright." Monster shrugged.

"Are you kidding that was tight!" Smiles said. "They probably wouldn't care about my teeth if I can move like that."

Moster laughed lightly. "Thanks, man."

"Hey, y'all!" Missy entered the backyard carrying a tray of drinks. "I made some margaritas!"

The crew huddled around her as she passed the margaritas around. Missy suddenly shot her head up, towards the door. It was absolutely miraculous that even when Missy's stereo was booming with loud music, she could still hear a knock on her front door.

She placed the tray on the empty table beside her and headed inside the house. It was probably her mom, although that would mean that she came home unusually early. Hopefully, she was proud enough that they won the streets to ignore the alcohol they were all gulping down at the moment.

Missy passed though her living room, where she could see Kiddo and Moose playing video games. She rolled her eyes on the two; she had never seen two people so absorbed in a video game before.

"The margaritas are outside, guys." Missy watched them intently. "So is the party."

"We'll be right there." Moose said, his eyes glued to the TV screen the entire time. "Once I beat Kiddo's high score."

"In your dreams, ROBERT!" Kiddo concentrated on the screen as well.

Missy laughed lightly at the two and approached the front door. She could hear someone knocking impatiently. This was not a good sign.

"I'm coming mami!" Missy muttered something in Spanish under her breath. "Geez, you know I've been celebrating with the crew so I couldn't hear nothin' you can't expect me to answer the door-"

Missy stopped as she saw a rather bothered-looking Andie standing on her doorstep.

"D, you made it!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around her. Andie tried to balance the both of them, so they wouldn't fall off of on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, I uh, just kind of ended up here." Andie replied.

Andie felt a tight grip on her wrist as she was dragged inside by her enthusiastic friend.

"What took you so long girl?" Missy pulled her into the living room, as Moose and Kiddo seemed to be completely concentrated on some video game, shouting and yelling at the TV screen.

"Guys, Andie's here!" Missy said, hoping that they would unglue their attention from the TV.

"Hey Andie." They said in unison, their eyes still fixated on their game.

Missy rolled her eyes. "Kids."

"Look, Missy I just wanted to talk-"

Missy pulled her into the backyard and shoved a margarita glass into her hand. "Here, I made some margaritas!" she said quite excitedly.

"Missy!" Andie tried to get the attention of her overly excited friend. By the looks of it, Missy got to the margaritas before anyone else did. "Look, I really need to talk to you about something."

Andie's eyebrows furrowed as she saw her friend's attention diverted elsewhere. "D, you know I would but I got a feelin' that you'll be a little too distracted." Missy continued her gaze fixated past Andie as a smirk swept across her face.

"What?"

"Tall, blonde and handsome headed this way."

"Hey." Andie turned to see a smiling Chase standing behind her.

"Hi." Andie greeted him nervously. His smile widened. She lifted her head up to look up at him. There was something in his gaze, something so intense, in a good way.

"I think I'm gonna go check if Mosse and Kiddo haven't killed each other yet." Missy said playfully. She shot Andie a look before leaving the two alone.

"I was starting to think you weren't gonna make it." Chase said.

"Yeah well, Missy would probably storm into my house and drag me in here anyways if I didn't do it myself." Andie smirked.

"So you didn't come here because of me?" Chase pouted. "And all of my glory?"

"Don't flatter yourself." Andie teased.

Chase laughed cockily. "Can't help it. It's part of my charm."

"Shut up." Andie chuckled lightly.

She was momentarily distracted by the cheers behind Chase. She tilted her head slightly to see the crew huddled up around as Monster and Hair showed of some of their moves. Monster did a few break dances as Hair showed of some of his freestyle moves. A few roars followed after, as they both struggled to their feet.

They must have caught sight of Andie since pretty soon the whole crew were waving at her and Chase.

Chase chuckled, waving back at them. "They've been going at it since they got here."

Andie waved back at them. "Still in the aftershock?"

"Yeah." Chase stared down at her. "We all are."

Andie tensed up as she felt his attention direct towards her. She cautiously looked back up at him, as silence stretched before them momentarily.

"Last night was-"

"Yeah." Andie cut him off hastily.

Chase grinned, continuing anyways. "-pretty amazing."

Andie smiled uncomfortably, silently cursing her whole situation. It probably would have been so much easier if she didn't have the prospect of Texas hanging over her head. She looked up at him, the intensity of his stare causing her to shift her weight from one foot to another nervously. The complete adoration in his eyes made them glisten, although they were away from the sun.

She took another glance at him. Damn, that boy could not stop grinning like an idiot. Andie couldn't help but smile herself. For a moment, it felt like it was suddenly darkening but then she realized that Chase was hovering dangerously close to her. It had seemed like she didn't trust herself to move, since her feet were rooted to the ground.

His hand rested gently on her cheek. She hesitated. He leaned forward, tilting his head slightly to the side. Andie could feel the small distance between them, the tension that built up around her rose. Her entire expression spelled out one thing, and one thing alone.

Fear.

Surprising Chase and herself included, she shoved her margarita into Chase's hand which caused his face to twist up in confusion.

"I uh…" Andie stuttered. "…want you to try one of Missy's margaritas. Can't have a party without alcohol right? Speaking of which, I promised Missy that I would help her with some stuff."

"But-"

She twirled her heels towards the door, hastily walking into the house. She silently cursed herself of the awkward and horrible mess she had gotten herself into as the confused Chase watched her in the background.

--

"Damn, Moose I thought you were good."

Missy shook her head disapprovingly as Kiddo and Moose's fingers danced across the video game controller. She settled on the chair beside the couch that Moose and Kiddo were sitting on watching them play.

"You gotta get you're game on." Missy stared at the TV screen as the two virtual ninjas wrestled each other to the ground.

"Yeah, you're going down!" Kiddo exclaimed.

"Game's not over yet, ELIZABETH!" Moose smirked as Kiddo's entire expression dropped at the mention of her first name.

"You said you wouldn't tell!" For the split second that Kiddo directed her attention to Moose, Moose's ninja had pinned Kiddo's to the ground.

"YES!" Moose exclaimed.

"YOU CHEATED!" Kiddo argued.

"That's what I'm talkin' bout!" Missy high-fived with Moose. Kiddo shot her a glare and Missy's expression slowly faded. "I-I mean, that was wrong, Moose."

"Yeah. You played dirty." Kiddo said.

Moose raised his hands in victory, pointing a finger at the displeased Kiddo. "I FINALLY BEAT YOU!! NYAHAHAHAHA!!"

"Stop dancing like a monkey you idiot, there's one more round left."

Moose stopped abruptly. "Oh." He sat back down and got a hold of his controller. "Bring it on! I can kick that ninja of yours and her little pink suit to the curb."

"I already told you, it's fuschia!" Kiddo narrowed her eyes as she glared at Moose.

"Whatever! It's still wearing pink panties!"

Moose flexed his fingers. Kiddo cracked her fists. Missy rolled her eyes. "Will you guys just start already? Geez."

They both turned their heads to the TV screen as the game started. The two ninja's struggled to wrestle each other to the ground. Moose and Kiddo's attention was centered on the two figures fighting on the screen. As the fight climaxed, both Kiddo and Moose jumped out of their seats and punched the buttons on the controllers so hard, Missy was praying that they wouldn't fall off. Finally, after a long shouting session between Moose, Kiddo and the TV screen, Moose's ninja did a high kick, sending Kiddo's ninja to the ground.

Moose's eyes widened. "I-I won." He turned to Kiddo and Missy, his voice heightening. "I WON!!"

Missy laughed as Moose started to do his victory dance. "WOOHOO!! I WON! I WON! IN YOUR FACE!!"

Moose pranced around the room doing some ninja moves. Missy rose from her seat as she heard another knock on her door. She disappeared momentarily leaving Kiddo and Moose in the living room.

"Please, you just got lucky." Kiddo rolled her eyes.

"Well, I don't see your name on the high score." Moose had his arms in the air, waving them ridiculously in victory. "I AM THE NINJA MASTER!! WOOHOO!!"

"Ninja master?" A soft voice behind Moose asked apprehensively.

Moose turned to see a quite amused Sophie standing beside Missy. Moose quickly dropped his arms and his cheeks blushed furiously in embarrassment.

"Soph," he stuttered. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I invited her." Missy raised her brow playfully. "Wouldn't be a party without _everyone _here, right Moose?"

Missy smiled amusingly as she saw Moose nodding nervously. He stared at her the entire time she made her way to the seat beside him. Seeing Moose gawk at Sophie, Missy smiled amusingly at them

"So," Sophie started. "Ninja master?"

"Moose beat Kiddo's high score." Missy explained.

"He just got lucky." Kiddo repeated as she sank into her seat.

Sophie picked up the video game casing and scanned through it. "You know, I'm pretty good at video games too."

The three raised their brows suspiciously. Missy spoke up, "Well, who would've thought, Sophie Donovan plays video games."

Sophie laughed lightly. "I used to play with my cousins. It's pretty easy to get the hang of it when your cousins are mostly boys."

"In fact," Sophie swiped up Kiddo's controller that was lying on the coffee table. "I think I could even beat Moose's high score." She smirked playfully.

"Oh really?" Moose snatched the controller from Sophie playfully as she tried to get it back from him. "I dunno, I have been on a roll. Besides, I wouldn't want to compete with me if I was a girl, right Kiddo?"

Kiddo glared at him. "Shut it, Robert."

"Yeah, Robert." Sophie laughed. "Afraid you're gonna lose to a girl?"

She finally snatched the controller back from Moose, shooting him a devilish look.

"Alright, you asked for it." Moose picked up his own controller. "But don't worry Soph, you can always take the consolation prize."

"I don't think I will though." Sophie smirked.

"Ready to lose?" Moose asked playfully.

"Bring it on, Robert." Sophie said as Kiddo snickered in the background.

"You might wanna be careful Sophie." Missy said slyly. "Moose has got his game on."

Missy took the empty margarita glasses from the side table and brought them to the kitchen. She caught sight of Andie walking into the house as she carried the tray of glasses.

"Missy!"

"Oh hey, girl." Missy said. "You want another drink?"

"I really need to talk to you." Andie looked around apprehensively before fixating her eyes again at her friend. "In private."

"Okay, okay let me just go leave these in the kitchen." Missy addressed her tray full of glasses as she settled them down on the kitchen table.

"Okay guys," Missy said to the three in the living room. Moose and Sophie were staring at the TV screen like zombies. "I'll be leaving you guys for a while, play nice."

The three waved her off as she smiled as she heard the loud yells of the three, cheering the ninjas on. Missy rolled her eyes.

"Kids."

--

"Hey Chase." Chase turned to see Cable drowsily standing beside him.

"Hey." Chase greeted. "I thought you were using Missy's computer?"

"I was until she kicked me out." Cable said. "Apparently, she and Andie needed to talk-whatever that means."

Chase's head shot up at the mention of Andie.. "Really? About what?"

"I dunno." Cable shrugged. "Make-up?"

Chase chuckled. "Somehow I can't really imagine that happening."

"Yeah," Cable sighed. "Women, they're always gonna be a mystery to me."

Chase nodded, recognizing Cable's confusion. He had been intensely quiet the entire time since Andie had left their conversation. Yet, the same questioned look was still imprinted on his face.

"Wonder what they're doing up there…" Cable grinned devilishly, clearly filled with….manly thoughts.

"Dude, you're sick." Chase chuckled.

"You were probably thinking it too." Cable laughed. "Hey, are you gonna drink that?" he pointed a finger towards the margarita Chase had in his hand.

"Oh…uh, I guess so." Chase looked at the drink, confused. "Apparently, it's Missy's specialty, and I don't think I wanna find out what she'll do to me if I don't drink it, especially when she's drunk."

Cable chuckled. "Yeah, things can get a little out of hand with that girl getting wasted." He pondered for a while, getting lost in thought. "I wonder if she'd be willing to do a sexy dance…"

Chase shook his head. "Are you always this horny?"

"Not usually." Cable smirked drowsily. "This is what a dozen of glasses of margaritas do to me."

Chase nodded, suddenly hesitant about his own drink. "Well, um…you might need a little bit more so you can forget how wasted you are." He handed Cable his drink and patted him on the back before he started to walk off.

"Thanks man." Cable's face lit up at the sight of the drink before he gobbled it down. "Where are you going?"

"I dunno." Chase called back. "I think I'm gonna go look for Andie."

--

"D, you're really starting to freak me out."

Missy stared her friend pacing across the room. This was not a usual habit of hers; in fact this was an alarming behavior that Missy had never really seen before.

"Seriously girl, I know how much you love my carpet but if you keep pacing like that I will personally send you the laundry bill." Missy looked at her, still puzzled. She was breathing deeply, like there was not enough air to occupy her weak frame.

"I know, I'm sorry it's just-"Andie struggled. "I don't know how to tell you this."

Missy sighed deeply. This wasn't helping. With every sentence she's muttered, Andie has done nothing but to manage to confuse her more and it worried her. Missy face suddenly lit up.

"Is this about Chase?"

Andie stopped pacing and turned to her apprehensively. "What?"

"Oh come on D, no use of hiding it now."

"Hiding what?"

"That you and Chase are a thing now." Missy smirked. She rested her back on the soft cushion behind her.

Andie shot her a look. "That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"But you won't deny it?" Missy asked suspiciously.

"I-I dunno if-I-me-him…" Andie stumbled with her words. "If _we_ are a 'thing' now."

Missy frowned. "But I saw you sucking each other's faces last night-"

"Nice way to phrase it." Andie shot sarcastically.

"Fine." Missy smirked. "I saw the kiss."

"We haven't really talked about it." Andie admitted timidly. "But that's not-"

"Oh, I get it." Missy perked up. "You came to me for some boy advice." She winked at her. "Good choice."

"No, Missy-"

"I mean, who else better to go to right?"

"But I-"

"I am thrilled for the two of you-"

"Sarah's still sending me to Texas!" Andie finally exploded. Missy's eyes widened. The color drained from her face, and the usual quirky smile, immediately dropped. The same fear and shock that Andie had been carrying now started to show on Missy's face.

--

"Yes, yes, YES!!"

Moose's eyes gleamed with delight at the sight of his ninja winning the fight. Kiddo sunk back into her seat, shaking her head.

Sophie chuckled. "Lucky shot."

"Face it Soph, I'm undefeatable so you might as well give up now." Moose smirked.

Sophie scoffed and grabbed Moose's controller playfully. "Never."

Moose struggled to get his controller back as Sophie tossed it over to Kiddo. Moose headed over to Kiddo as she tossed it back to Sophie.

"You guys!" Moose whined as the two girls laughed heartily, quite amused with themselves. Before they could even realize it, Moose started tickling Sophie's sides.

"MOOSE!" Sophie managed to say between her fit of giggles. "Stop it!"

Her arms were flying around, trying to stop Moose from tickling her. She raised his controller in defeat as he gladly swiped it from her and retreated his hands from tickling her sides.

"Ha!" Moose held his controller triumphantly. Sophie tried to catch her breath as she and Kiddo rolled their eyes at him.

"Get over yourself." Moose shot a look at Kiddo who shot him a smirk.

Sophie let out a small laugh. "Kiddo, can you get me a glass of water please? I'm a little parched."

Kiddo rose from her seat and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Had to do something to avoid you two getting into a fight." Sophie shrugged.

"Saving Kiddo from the humiliation?" Moose smirked. "Smart girl."

"Actually, I'm saving you the humiliation."

Sophie smiled as Moose gave her as look. He picked up his controller. "Ready to lose?"

"Not quite." Sophie said playfully as she held up her own. "Let's make this a little interesting shall we?"

Moose looked at her suspiciously. "What are you up to?"

Sophie smiled playfully. "If I win, then you get to do something for me. Anything I want."

"And if you don't?" Moose remarked teasingly.

"Then I get to do whatever you want me to do." Sophie said smoothly. She picked up her controller in one smooth motion. "Deal?"

Moose shot her a crooked smile before he scooped his own controller into his hands.

"Deal."

--

Andie didn't have to look at her to know the mixture of confusion and horror that spread across her face. Missy had been unusually quiet. Occasionally opening her mouth to say something, and then closing as she hesitated. She still couldn't get a word out of her mouth which was definitely a bad sign.

"It would've been great if you said something." Andie sighed as she threw herself across Missy's bed. "Anything."

"Y-You're moving to Texas?!" Missy finally mustered. Andie nodded slowly expressionless, almost as f she was expecting this kind of reaction from her.

"But I thought-"

"Yeah, so did I." Andie stared at the ceiling, hesitant to look at her friend. "I guess it's just not going to happen."

They both sat in momentary silence, not exactly knowing what to do or say. Andie fidgeted. She wasn't used to being this quiet with Missy, especially since she had a mouth that worked like a machine.

"Does…" Missy hesitated. "Does anyone else know?"

"No." Andie replied quietly. "Just you."

Missy nodded slowly, trying to understand. "You can't leave, D!" she exclaimed suddenly. "What are we gonna do without you?" She jumped to her feet surprising both herself and her overwhelmed friend.

"I don't want to leave," Andie sat up. "But what else can I do? Sarah's made up her mind."

"Maybe, if you just talk to her-"

"You know that never works out." Andie cut her off. "I've already tried to talk her out of it a bunch of times, she's just as stubborn as I am."

Andie stood and released a frustrated sigh that she was holding. She started pacing furiously again, her emotions getting the best of her.

"You can crash here." Missy suggested. Her voice was so low, like she doubted her own words.

"You know your mom will eventually find out and tell Sarah."

Missy's face dimmed as well as her friend. A few seconds later, her face lit up with hope.

"You can tell her about you getting back to MSA!" Missy said excitedly. "She'll be so happy that she won't even remember Texas."

"She found out about MSA alright." Andie's gaze still fixed on the ceiling fan. "She was so happy that she told me to personally tell Director Collins about Texas."

"You're leaving MSA?" Missy asked worriedly.

"I think we have bigger problems than that." Andie played with the loose threads on Missy's bed.

Missy understood. "Sarah's just trippin'. She can't seriously be sending you to Texas-"

"She just doesn't understand!" Andie's anger started to heighten her voice and came out of her words. "I've already lost my mother and just when things start to get better she just…she just-"

"Calm down, D…"

"How can I?!" Andie's head sunk lower. Missy knew that she was already on the verge of breaking down.

Missy sighed hopelessly. "You can't leave." She repeated. "What about the crew? MSA?" Andie ran her fingers through her hair. Missy studied her, her eyes full of sympathy for her friend.

Andie sighed heavily shaking her head. "Sometimes I wonder if it was any easier to just give up…Sometimes, I'm tired of fighting a battle everyday by myself."

"What about me?" Missy said softly. Andie's head shot up quizzically at her. "We're like family, D…we always were."

Andie stared at her friend, slightly overwhelmed at the honesty in her words. Missy placed a comforting hand on Andie's shoulder. "We're gonna get through this together."

All Andie could do was nod slowly. Missy stared at her friend, full of sympathy. She obviously sensed the doubt and fear in her and pulled her into a hug. Andie's body was cold with fear, and Missy knew that it was hard for her to keep herself from breaking down.

Missy's words were firm, as her voice resonated through the room.

"We're gonna get through this together, D. I promise."

--

Chase opened a few of Missy's kitchen cabinets. He rummaged through the bottles of alcohol, looking for an empty space. His head shot up at the sound of footsteps approaching him and turned to see Moose getting some refreshments.

"Hey Chase."

"Hey man." Chase glanced up at him.

"Didn't know you were much of a drinker." Moose nudged toward the bottle of vodka in Chase's hand.

"Oh, this." Chase looked down at the bottle. "I've been trying to hide it from Cable, he's been keeping his stash in his laptop bag."

"Oh." Moose frowned. "Didn't take him as a big fan of alcohol as well…wonder if he's ever gotten himself drunk…"

"I dunno, and I don't think I want to find out anytime soon." They both chuckled lightly.

Chase spotted Sophie smiling at them over Moose's shoulder and they both waved at her. "So how's that going?"

"What do you mean?" Moose asked dumbly.

"You and Sophie." Chase smiled smugly as Moose's cheeks flushed with color. "No offense dude, but it's kind of obvious that you like her."

"I uh…"

"See?" Chase pointed out. Moose pouted at his defeat.

"We kissed." Moose said softly. Chase's eyes widened.

"When?"

"Last night, after the streets." Moose managed a small smile at the memory.

"Didn't know you had it in you, man." Chase said as they high-fived.

"Yeah well, now all I have to do is to find the courage to ask her out." Moose said nervously.

Chase patted him on the back encouragingly. "Well you better get back to her."

"What about you? How's that going for you?"

Chase looked at him confused. "What?"

"You and Andie. It's kind of obvious man." Moose smirked. "How's that going?"

Chase smiled knowingly as he started to walk off. "I'm working on it."

--

"Sarah!"

Sarah rushed to the door, a pen in one hand and a phone in the other. Her eyes dimmed slightly at the sight of the sky darkening so early.

"Momma!"

Sarah opened the door as Charlie and a little girl about his age rushed inside. They immediately ran past Sarah and headed towards the stairs giggling. Behind the two kids stood a tall middle-aged woman who smiled warmly at the two.

"Now, now Rosie, aren't you forgetting something?"

The little girl stared at her. Her eyes, piercing blue and full of innocence that only a child could bear. She thought for a while and after a few moments, approached Sarah and hugged her around her waist, the highest place her tiny arms could reach.

"Thank you for having us here." The little girl smiled sweetly at her.

Sarah chuckled. "You can stay as much as you want, child. It's always been a pleasure to have you here Rosie."

The little girl nodded and quickly released her arms from Sarah's waist and followed Charlie to his room, leaving the two adults with a smug smile on their faces.

"And I should be thanking you too, Karen for picking up Charlie from school." Sarah turned to the woman next to her. "I really appreciate it."

"It's alright. He's a really great kid you know." Karen said calmly. "You should be proud."

"Yeah." Sarah sighed. "Rosie is a great kid too you know."

"Thanks." Karen smiled warmly. "She tries to stay out of trouble."

"You know when you guys moved next door, I wouldn't have thought that they would be such close friends."

Karen laughed. "Yeah, it kind of scares me when I think of what kinds of trouble those two can get into."

Sarah smiled at her. It was so fortunate of her to have neighbors like Karen and Rosie. Rosie had been Charlie's playmate since they were in preschool and she and Karen have been close friends ever since. It was occasional that they would just come over and the two women would talk while the kids would play together.

Sarah frowned slightly at the light pattering on the roof. "Unusual weather we're having aren't we? It's either drizzling or really raining outside, I wouldn't be surprised if a storm comes anytime soon."

Karen nodded in agreement. "It has been raining quite a lot lately..."

The two stared out the window momentarily. It had always been a mother's instinct to worry about the weather, mostly for the health of their children.

"So what was this emergency about anyways?" Karen asked as Sarah offered her to sit on the couch. Sarah sighed. She had asked Karen to pick up Charlie from school because her boss had called on an emergency.

"Work has been up my ass lately." Sarah replied. "Not to mention child services."

Karen eyebrow rose as Sarah had expected. She hadn't quite told her about Andie leaving. After last night, she didn't really want to talk much about it.

"Last week, Andie's aunt had filed for an adoption for full guardianship." Sarah explained. "She's leaving for Texas." She watched as Karen tried her best to appear as calm as possible and keep her composure but her eyes were full of shock.

"And how does Andie feel about this?" she asked reluctantly.

Sarah let out a small sarcastic laugh like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "She's furious. God knows that girl probably won't talk to me ever again."

Karen nodded slowly. She watched as Sarah's eyebrows scrunched together in absolute confusion. She knew that Andie was definitely outraged by it but it was definitely taking its toll on Sarah as well. It might even be affecting her as much as Andie.

"I'm glad that you told me this Sarah." Karen tried comforting her. "I know that it's tough for Andie to do this but it must be hard for you too."

Sarah sighed heavily. "I told her mother that I would take care of her." She said slowly. "I told her that I would take care of her little girl and now I'm letting her go."

Karen saw her friend's eyes start welling up as tears slowly slid down her cheeks. "It's not your fault." She said softly, trying to comfort her.

"But it is." Sarah said shakily. "It is my fault because I failed. I promised to take care of her and look at what has become of her life."

"You've been a great mother to both Andie and Charlie."

"I have to be." Sarah said slowly. "I have to give her the best life she can get, I have to do the right thing for her and for her mother, even if it means setting her free."

--

"Okay, that has got to be the best game ever!"

Moose pranced out on Missy's porch with Sophie trailing behind him. The sky was dark, as the night started to roll in. Sophie had her arm over her stomach as it still hurt from laughing all afternoon.

"Okay, okay, you win." Sophie chuckled at Moose's excitement. "So what do you want me to do?"

Moose looked at her, a little bit confused. "Huh?"

"Time to collect your prize, we made a bet." Sophie explained. "And I am a woman of my word."

"Well, that is very honorable of you, Soph." Moose smirked. "I can't really think of anything right now though…can I save that for later."

"Sure." Sophie smiled.

"Besides, losing to me must have been hard enough." Moose said slyly. "I'll take it easy on you."

"What are you talking about? I lost to you by _on_e point." Sophie pointed out.

Moose shrugged. "You did better than Kiddo."

"I heard that, Robert!" Kiddo's voice suddenly boomed from inside and Moose and Sophie giggled at that.

"I really had fun today." Sophie said.

Moose smiled slightly as his feet fidgeted. His voice grew shaky and nervous. "Maybe we should do this again sometime..."

Sophie looked at him. "Are you asking me out?"

"D-Do you want to ask me out?" Moose suddenly started blabbing. "I-I mean we could just hang out if you want, you know, play video games I've got lots of them at home although my mom doesn't really the fact that I'm a bit addicted to it she has this weird theory about technology-"

"Moose!" Sophie pushed her finger against his lips, causing him to stop his incessant blabbing.

She smiled widely at his cuteness. "I'd really like that."

Before either could say anything else, a flash of light blinded the both of them. A middle-aged woman peeped out of the window of her car, looking a little cross. Sophie recognized her mom's car and shivered at the thought of her mom's bad temper.

"Call me." Sophie whispered into his ear and gave him an apologetic look as she walked off towards her mom's car.

Moose stared at her a little stunned. "So is that a yes?" he called out to her.

Sophie looked back at him and gave him the sweetest smile she could.

"It's a yes."

--

Andie shivered against the cold of the night. There was something about Baltimore lately that had made the weather seem gloomy, almost as if it was a complete refelction of her thoughts. She stepped out onto the porch, hoping to get some fresh air when she saw Chase standing there, his back turned on her.

She smiled slightly to herself. It was like he had sensed her presence as he turned his head toward her and shot her a warm smile.

"Hey."

"Hey." Andie said softly.

"I've been looking all over for you." Chase said. "Cable told me that you and Missy kicked him out of Missy's room to talk but I didn't think that you would talk for the whole afternoon."

"Yeah well, uh we just…" Andie tried to find an excuse. "We were just working on some steps. You know Missy, she likes to show off."

"Well, at least you kept Cable away from his internet porn." Chase laughed lightly.

Andie laughed at that. "Yeah Missy and I found his stash in her computer."

"I just hoped that I could've spent more time with you, you know." Chase admitted.

Andie rolled her eyes teasingly. "Shut up."

"No, I mean it." Chase said sincerely.

She looked directly at Chase for the first time throughout the whole day. He looked back at her, and they both just stared at each other in the silence and dark of the night. Andie had always been a strong person who can hold her emotions to herself but with a situation like this, it gave her such vulnerability that made the emotional barrier go higher than it used to be.

Chase studied her face, with both longing and sympathy in his eyes, almost as if he already knew what was bothering her. His voice broke the silence surrounding them.

"I'm sorry."

Andie's brows furrowed in confusion. "For what?"

"For whatever it is that I did to make you avoid me all day." Chase stared at her. Andie lowered her head in guilt. "Something you wanna tell me?"

"I didn't mean to…" Andie tried to explain weakly. "It's just…" She let out a sigh of frustration, mostly for herself to hear.

"Wow, I must have been really horrible to you." Chase said slightly sarcastic. He gave her a warm smile which surprised both of them. "Come on, you can tell me."

"I can't-" Andie stopped herself. "-talk right now. I-I don't feel so good…" she lied. She rubbed her free hand against her forehead and creased her eyebrows together in a perfect imitation of a headache.

"Oh." Chase dropped his eyes. "I was kind of hoping that we could talk about what happened last night and what it meant…"

Andie froze. Her eyes filled quickly with panic. Her voice seemed to have been stuck in her throat as an unbearable moment of silence passed between them.

Chase looked back up at her. "Andie, I…"

"Andie! Chase!"

The two turned their heads toward Missy who was running towards them. Andie's eyes danced with relief as she approached them.

"Um…the crew wants to go to the Dragon tomorrow." Missy started. "You guys comin'?"

"Yeah, definitely." Chase said.

"I don't think I can." Andie said quietly. "I uh, have some stuff to do at home."

Missy's eyebrow rose. "D, can I talk to you alone for a sec?" she turned to Chase. "You don't mind do you?"

"Go ahead, it's not like you had the whole afternoon to talk about whatever it is you guys talk about." Chase said sarcastically as the two stuck out their tongues at him.

Missy pulled Andie aside so Chase couldn't hear them. "What are you doing?"

"What are _you _doing?" Andie demanded. "Sarah won't let me out of the house now considering my 'situation'"

"Since when has Sarah ever stopped you from doing what you want?"

"Since last night."

Missy sighed. "Okay, I'll try to cover for you if that makes you feel better."

"I kind of don't want to go…" Andie admitted timidly.

Missy's eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"

Andie glanced over her shoulder to Chase as Missy followed her gaze and understood. "That bad huh?"

"It's just been, really hard…" Andie remarked, her gaze still fixated on Chase.

Missy nodded slowly. "Don't worry, D, I'll take care of you alright?"

"But-"

Missy dragged Andie back to Chase before she could say anything else.

"She's all yours." She winked at Chase before disappearing from their sight.

"So what was that all about?" Chase asked curiously.

"Um..." Andie searched for an answer. "Missy just convinced me to go to the Dragon tomorrow…I have to go now though, Sarah's gonna kill me if I don't get home soon."

"So, I'll see you tomorrow? Maybe we can talk?" Chase suggested. "I mean, only if you want to…I'm sort f getting the feeling that you're mad at me or something."

Andie saw his slightly sullen expression and her face showed her pain in making him suffer like this. She took one step closer towards him so their faces were so close to each other. She tiptoed to reach his face, her breath lingered against his skin as she gave him a kiss on his cheek.

They both flushed slightly at the sudden sweet gesture. Andie bit her lip and smiled widely at him. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He gave her the biggest smile he had given her for the entire day. She walked past him as she made her way to the sidewalk, her footsteps echoing behind her. Chase watched her go until she had disappeared into the darkness.

He found himself still grinning as he gently touched the patch of skin on his face which she had kissed. He whispered a response that only he could hear, his smile widening with every word.

"See you tomorrow."

--

**I hope the length of this chapter made up for the long wait I think that thius is the longest chapter I've ever written actually…lol**

**I'll be updating within the week….sorry about the delay, I've been having a hectic schedule but I will try my very best to update as soon as I can for all you lovely readers of mine :) **

**Reviews please! ;) **

**den**


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